Lagos 2015: Obanikoro’s men in early move

Dare Odufowokan reports that Senator Musiliu Obanikoro’s current moves have flagged off descreet campaign for the PDP ticket ahead of 2015 governorship election in Lagos State

I head of the 2015 governorship election in Lagos State, the political camp of Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ghana, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has started making underground but frantic efforts to ensure the emergence of the Isale-Eko-born politician as the flag-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

Already, the hitherto rested political machinery of the Senator has been revived with members daily thronging to the Lagos Island home of the Obanikoros as well as the homes and offices of his associates across the state.

The moves came to the fore at the weekend when known associates of the politician commenced wards and local government area meetings of the ‘Koro’ group across the state. Senator Obanikoro is better known as Koro-Ibo in Lagos political circles.

Also, various groups are being formed by followers of the politician within and outside the party to aid his renewed ambition to govern Lagos State. One of such, the Obanikoro Vanguard, on Monday held a sensitisation campaign in Ikorodu Local Government.

The event, which was held at Ojubode Square, according to the group’s co-ordinator, Kehinde Olowonisaiye, was meant to prepare the minds of the people of the state that the Senator will once again present himself for the service of the people of Lagos.

“We are here to tell you all that Senator Musiliu Obanikoro is interested in serving the people of Lagos State. We are talking to him to come out and contest the governorship and we are sure he will run. This time, he is the man we want.

“This is not about party or tribe but about somebody who knows Lagos and can serve Lagos better. We all know Governor Babatunde Fashola will not be eligible to contest again. If we want his good work to be continued, then the man we need is Musiliu Obanikoro,” Olowonisaiye told reporters at the rally.

In Ojo Local Government Area at the weekend, another PDP group, named Ojo Broom, held a meeting to discuss the gubernatorial ambition of Senator Obanikoro. The Senator was allegedly present at the meeting.

Scores of PDP leaders and youths graced the event and listened to Obanikoro as he reportedly talked about his desire to serve again. Sources at the meeting, however, said not all the PDP leaders present at the event supported the Senator’s renewed ambition.

A number of them was said to have left the meeting disappointed when it dawned on them that he was not there to talk about uniting the party as they were earlier told.

“A good number of us, especially party elders, left the meeting mid-way. This is because what the Ojo Broom members told us was that he was coming to talk about the plans to unite the party. But when we got there, he was talking about his governorship ambition.

“This is not the time to further divide the party with such moves. This is the time to unite the party first. Later, those who want to contest can come and tell us. Sincerely, a lot of us were disappointed,” Banji Aliu, a PDP ward leader, who was at the meeting, said.

A chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) who is also the member representing Ojo Constituency 11 in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Lanre Ogunyemi, while talking about the meeting, said attempt were even made to drop the names of some prominent ACN leaders as part of those who attended the parley.

While dissociating himself from the meeting, Ogunyemi said the PDP group, Ojo Broom, circulated text messages and posted on Facebook that his former campaign manager and aide were at the meeting. The lawmaker however said he was not perturbed by the development, adding that the group’s effort to tarnish his image had failed.

I did not attend the said meeting. I remain a loyal member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and my loyalty to the party’s leadership has never been in doubt,” he said.

The Nation also learnt that Obanikoro has been using selected elders of the party in the state to reach out to camps opposed to his candidacy within the party. Believed to have the backing of the Presidency, the Senator, sources said, is working hard to win the confidence of the party leadership in the state.

“At a meeting held by the PDP at the Ikoyi residence of former National Deputy Chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George, Obanikoro’s name was muted as a possible candidate by some elders of the party. We all know it was not a co-incidence. We are all politicians and we know the game. We know the eleders working for him and we are all waiting to see how things will turn out. Our interest is the party’s victory this time,” a female party chieftain said.

Political analysts were quick to see recent newspaper reports of an alleged endorsement of the Senator by the leadership of his party as its gubernatorial candidate come 2015 as another of the many political moves by his handlers ahead of the general election.

“He is a politician and he is not resting on his oars in his bid to get the ticket of the party. So, it may be a ploy to get him into the news ahead of the struggle for the ticket. Now, he is the most talked about person in Lagos PDP. So the gimmick, if it is actually one, worked,” Austin Maxi of the Centre for Democracy and Justice (CDJ) said.

But the State chapter of the PDP distanced itself from what it called “the purported endorsement of Senator Musliu Obanikoro” as governorship candidate of the party ahead of 2015 gubernatorial election in the state. The party made known its stance in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos by its publicity secretary, Taofik Gani.

“We are saying emphatically that we have not endorsed, nor focused on any particular person to be our governorship candidate. Currently, we are occupied with laying the conducive environment for free and fair primaries as may be directed by our national headquarters.

Our party is a democratic party and we don’t intend to deviate from that identity, especially in selecting our candidates at all levels,” the statement read. The party attributed the endorsement insinuation to the handiwork of the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which it accused of “trying to cause disaffection within its fold,” the PDP stated.

It is most unlikely that Obanikoro will be the only one seeking the PDP ticket for the 2015 gubernatorial challenge, but owing to the never ending schism in the state chapter of the party, most of the gladiators are yet to emerge.

But some other names are currently being mentioned as likely to make a dash for the party’s flag. These include the likes of Ade Dosumu, who was the party’s candidate in the 2011 governorship election; Chief Mrs. Remi Adiukwu-Bakare, former Commissioner for Commerce in the State; Adedeji Doherty, who contested the party primary in 2007 and 2011, among others.

4 thoughts on “Lagos 2015: Obanikoro’s men in early move”

KORO or what do they call you.Am not a politician but,the popular yoruba adage that says’ igba esisin(million flies ) kindigbolowo(cannot restle),OWO(broom) baba esisin(broom the master).on this i stand.You belong to a party that has nothing to show.We donot need a party that will turn the current fortune of Lagos to misfortune.I have observed that the primary aim of the PDP generally is the glamour of the office and not development.This is evident in all the offices they held in tha past and currently in the Nation.You dont have any meaningful purpose.

I sincerely believe an individual irrespective of party can make a big difference. Fashola as done well, but with the likes of his God father Tinubu still in play, its time Lagosians wrestle the state from him. He is now taking them for a serious ride, and will ensure the next candidate he presents is a moron/buffoon in order to maintain control. Obanikoro as proven himself, he should go ahead and enter race. May the best man win.